Silver Elite: Chapter 31
Nov. 2nd, 2025 08:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penwallaCross has shown up in uniform as himself. Everyone is staring at him in what Wren assumes is lust, but come on, this is an illegal brothel, it's probably all fear.
Wren pauses to be horny about how powerful Cross is, which is insane because his power is that he's a member of a fascist military government that kills people like her. Then she tries to use Cross's entrance to get more info by pretending she thinks it's a trap, only to find out Cross is apparently a regular.
Ew.
Wren decides to tell Shenise, the brothel madam, who her contact is, since that info was in her backstory.
EW. I'm just going to say it: this is gross and weird. These two characters do not have the kind of tension that makes me want to see them in this situation. They have no chemistry! No connection! Nothing in common except that they want to fuck! I can't root for their relationship, which means all the allure of this forced proximity pretending to be a naive prostitute stuff is just gross now.
Wren goes over to Cross, who makes her sit in his lap. Then he fondles her leg while she tells him the backstory she memorized about herself prior to the operation. Now, Wren is really horny about this, so it's not nonconsensual, but it's still weird.
Cross then cuts off their comms so no one can hear them.
Wren, I am begging you, develop some fucking self-respect.
They banter for a bit. Wren was bullied for her special golden eyes in school, because of course she was. Then Wren asks about Cross's dad. Cross immediately shuts down that line of conversation. Then he tells her to pretend she's not ready for it and to run out of the brothel and return to base.
So during this undercover operation where Wren is supposed to be demonstrating her skills, she failed to get the info, and then ended up just doing what Cross told her to, and the comms were cut off, so all her instructors know is that she failed. Like, this is transparently Cross using the mission to feel her up, and the book tries to get away with it by having Wren be super into it, but the fact remains that once again the book had an opportunity to have Wren successfully do something and she didn't.
The chapter ends with Cross telling Wren to report to his office for a debrief.
They're going to fuck on the desk, aren't they. Goddamn it.
Wren pauses to be horny about how powerful Cross is, which is insane because his power is that he's a member of a fascist military government that kills people like her. Then she tries to use Cross's entrance to get more info by pretending she thinks it's a trap, only to find out Cross is apparently a regular.
Ew.
Wren decides to tell Shenise, the brothel madam, who her contact is, since that info was in her backstory.
I pull my comm out of my bag and pretend to read something, but it isn’t long at all before Shenise returns. She studies me, and her amusement is unmistakable.
“The captain wants you.”
My eyebrows soar. “I’m sorry. What?”
“He wants you to keep him company.”
“Oh. What if I don’t…want to do that?”
She starts to laugh. A low, melodic sound. “You said you wanted work. Let’s call this a job interview.”
EW. I'm just going to say it: this is gross and weird. These two characters do not have the kind of tension that makes me want to see them in this situation. They have no chemistry! No connection! Nothing in common except that they want to fuck! I can't root for their relationship, which means all the allure of this forced proximity pretending to be a naive prostitute stuff is just gross now.
Wren goes over to Cross, who makes her sit in his lap. Then he fondles her leg while she tells him the backstory she memorized about herself prior to the operation. Now, Wren is really horny about this, so it's not nonconsensual, but it's still weird.
Cross then cuts off their comms so no one can hear them.
He’s shut off our feed.
Which means we’re no longer transmitting to Command when he leans in to drawl in my ear.
“I was wrong before. You make a very good whore, Dove.”
I bristle. I wish I could punch him in the face. I stroke it instead. He tenses, just slightly, as I trace the line of his jaw, his stubble gliding beneath my fingertips. Then a lazy smile plays at the corners of his lips. The dimple appears, and I feel a sense of satisfaction that I’m the one who made it happen.
Wren, I am begging you, develop some fucking self-respect.
They banter for a bit. Wren was bullied for her special golden eyes in school, because of course she was. Then Wren asks about Cross's dad. Cross immediately shuts down that line of conversation. Then he tells her to pretend she's not ready for it and to run out of the brothel and return to base.
So during this undercover operation where Wren is supposed to be demonstrating her skills, she failed to get the info, and then ended up just doing what Cross told her to, and the comms were cut off, so all her instructors know is that she failed. Like, this is transparently Cross using the mission to feel her up, and the book tries to get away with it by having Wren be super into it, but the fact remains that once again the book had an opportunity to have Wren successfully do something and she didn't.
The chapter ends with Cross telling Wren to report to his office for a debrief.
They're going to fuck on the desk, aren't they. Goddamn it.
